Eagles could compete in Euro League

Champions League sport could be coming to Eastbourne next year as speedway’s authorities discuss the game’s first-ever European knockout competition.

The tournament would bring together the top two teams from Britain, Poland, Sweden and Denmark to compete in two-legged knockout ties to decide the continent’s finest speedway team, with Eastbourne Eagles’ runners-up spot in this year’s Elite League earning them a place in any prospective tournament.

Eagles boss Trevor Geer, who watched his side narrowly miss out on the Elite League title on Monday night, believes the idea could revolutionise the sport of speedway.

He said, “I think it’d be absolutely fantastic. You’d get some of the best riders in the world coming here to the Arlington, and I imagine you’d get speedway fans from across the country turning out to watch.

“All the matches would be broadcast on Sky Sport except those where a British team is at home.

“This means that we’d get plenty of people through the door and hopefully boost the profile of the sport enormously.

“You only need to look at the affect it’s had on football to see how big this kind of thing could be, and I think it could be a fantastic way to progress the sport.”

There are still a number of problems to iron out before the tournament becomes a reality.

Poland’s governing body hasn’t been keen on the idea so far, while there are different rules between all four countries with regards to team-building.

In addition, a number of riders represent teams in more than one of the competing countries.